24 August, 2016

In praise of WikiLeaks

Dr. Jill
Stein

WikiLeaks
founder Julian Assange is a hero. Like Edward Snowden, Chelsea
Manning, and other whistleblowers facing government persecution,
Assange has sacrificed his personal comfort and safety to bring us
the truth.

George
Orwell said, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a
revolutionary act.” Thanks to WikiLeaks, we know that powerful
institutions have been abusing their power and lying to the public.
For example, redacted State Department communications published by
WikiLeaks revealed that Secretary Clinton identified Saudi Arabia as
a leading funding source for terrorist groups around the time she
approved a whopping $29 billion arms deal with the Saudi
dictatorship.

WikiLeaks
courageously published the infamous “Collateral Murder” video
showing an American helicopter gunning down Iraqi civilians, Viewed
over 15 million times on Youtube alone, it revealed just one of the
many shocking war crimes whitewashed as “collateral damage” by
the US government.

WikiLeaks’
stunning revelations of how top Democratic National Committee
officials conspired to sabotage Bernie Sanders’ presidential
campaign, in collusion with the media, shattered the illusion of a
fair electoral process and confirmed what millions Americans already
knew in their gut: we live under a rigged political system.

What
WikiLeaks actually does — to political parties, the military, and
other powerful entities — is pull back the curtain of censorship,
spin, and deception to show the public what’s really going on.
Unlike pundits in the mainstream media, WikiLeaks doesn’t tell us
what to think. They invite us to read the emails, watch the footage,
and decide for ourselves.

The
political and economic elite, used to controlling information, see
this unprecedented transparency as a tremendous threat. They have
mercilessly persecuted a series of heroic whistleblowers. Chelsea
Manning, convicted of leaking the Collateral Murder video among other
revealing materials, was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison.

Manning, a
transgender woman, has been subjected to treatment that the UN
described as “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” in
violation of the Convention Against Torture. Shockingly, after a
recent suicide attempt, Manning faces disciplinary charges that could
land her in indefinite solitary confinement.

The security
state would like to make an example of Assange, as it has done to
Manning and others. In fact, the Obama administration has prosecuted
more whistleblowers than all previous presidents combined. And the
persecution of whistleblowers is often accompanied by ruthless
character assassination to discredit them.

Many have
asked how Greens, who count feminism among our ten key values, can
support Assange when he’s been accused of rape. As a strong
advocate for victims of sexual violence, I take this question
seriously.

While
countless media reports highlight the allegations against Assange,
most people have never heard that an official UN report has declared
the case against Assange to be unfounded. Three investigations have
been dropped without charges ever having been filed. And the UN
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has stated that Assange has been
unlawfully detained and should be released. In light of these facts,
it appears the allegations against Assange were a false pretext used
by those who want to give him the Chelsea Manning treatment — or
worse.

As the
Presidential candidate of a party that has maintained principled
criticism of powerful political, military and corporate institutions,
I’ve gotten a first—hand look at how the establishment attacks
people who challenge the status quo. These attacks are intended to
brand their targets as pariahs and stigmatize anyone who dares to
challenge this narrative. The truth is a frequent casualty to
political vendettas.

On that
note, one of the strangest developments this year has been seeing
journalists attack WikiLeaks for doing what journalists are supposed
to do: reveal the unvarnished truth to the public. WikiLeaks has done
us an invaluable service by shining a light into the dark corners of
power where corruption and wrongdoing fester.

The economic
and political elite have targeted Assange not because his hands are
dirty, but because he’s given us a glimpse of how dirty their own
hands are. WikiLeaks’ revelations are inspiring countless people to
mobilize against corruption and wrongdoing at the highest levels, and
for that, Julian Assange is a hero in my book.